Thursday, June 16, 2011

What's this sudden uncertainty about Google Chromebook?

What's this sudden uncertainty about Google Chromebook?

There has been a dramatic change in the Betanews poll asking readers if they would buy a Chrome OS laptop. The number for respondents answering "No" dropped significantly, while the yeses and maybes are way up. That's all just today. What does it mean?

The first Chromebooks went on sale today, from Acer and Samsung, ranging in price from $379.99 to $499.99.During the first days the poll was up, more than 85 percent of respondents said "No" to Chromebook. When I posted the earlier-day's story, the number was 69.4 percent, from 562 respondents. The number answering "Yes" was 11.57 percent, while 19.04 percent answered "Maybe."

Now, with more than 1,400 respondents, the nos is 58.45 percent. There are now 27.87 percent maybes and 13.68 percent yeses. The big shift is in uncertainty -- fewer respondents are absolute "No," while more are "thinking about it."

A poll like this one is by no means scientific. The only filter is against voting twice. But otherwise anyone can vote, and respondents are unqualified by profession, age or other demographic criteria. I know respondents' countries, which are automatically collected based on IP address. Seventy-three percent of respondents are from the United States.

Still, it's fascinating to see such a dramatic change in the poll results, which surely isn't coincidental on launch day. There are lots more Chromebook reviews now, then there is the response to actually being able to order the product. I would go so far as to call the poll indicative of a changing trend in reception but otherwise regard the results cautiously.

Quick refersher: Chromebook runs Google's Chrome OS, presenting the browser as the user interface. For anyone using Chrome on Windows, Mac or Linux, Google's operating system will feel familiar. Chromebook is meant to stay constantly connected to the Net, storing data in the cloud and accessing services from websites or apps installed in the browser.